Manipulative surface projectile game



Oct. 12, 1965 A. F. DREYER 3,211,457

MANIPULATIVE SURFACE PROJEGTILE GAME Filed Feb. 21, 1961 :IE: I I5 5 INVENTOR.

ALLEN F DREYER ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,211,457 MANIPULATIVE SURFACE PROJECTILE GAME Allen F. Dreyer, Richmond, Califi, assignor to Universal Research, Berkeley, Caiif., a partnership Filed Feb. 21, 1961, Ser. No. 90,765 1 Claim. (Cl. 273-115) This invention relates to a manipulative game and more particularly to self-contained devices in which the movement of objects therethrough is accomplished by rotating and shaking the device, the movement of the objects being observed through transparent wall structures.

The present invention contemplates a transparent tube provided with a plurality of partitions separating the interior of the tube into a row of compartments. The objects pass from one compartment to another through openings formed in the bulkheads in such manner as to provide a novel and entertaining method of play.

The openings are dimensioned and positioned in such manner as to allow the objects to pass freely down the length of the tube so long as the path of travel of the falling objects coincides with the aligned openings, it being particularly important to the desired method of operation that the object be able to pass freely through two or more compartments without striking the partitions. The objects and openings are also related dimensionally in such manner that the objects may interfere with each other passing through a particular opening and require extra manipulation to accomplish passage of all the objects from one compartment to another. The described relationship of the objects to the openings makes possible the novel method of play which is highly entertaining to the participants.

Accordingly it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a game having a plurality of objects designed to pass through a plurality of compartments in a novel and entertaining manner in which skill and luck are combined.

Another object of the invention is to provide a game of the character described in which the player can race the objects from one end to the other with the idea of completing the transfer in the shortest possible period of time, the objects and internal structure being dimensioned and proportioned to permit the objects, on the one hand, to fall through several compartments at once and, on the other hand, to cause the objects to interfere with each other and require extra manipulation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a game of the character described in which the objects have different visual characteristics and the structure provides a configuration permittting a large variety of positional patterns to be accomplished.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a manipulative game of the character described which presents an attractive appearance and interesting rattling sound which appeals to babies too small to grasp the idea of utilizing the structure to play a specific game.

Another object of the invention is to provide a manipulative game of the character described which is inexpensive to manufacture and which provides a sturdy structure having a long, useful life.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent as the specification progresses, and the new and useful features of my manipulative game will be fully defined in the claim attached hereto.

The preferred form of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming part of this applicatlon, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a game constructed in accordance with the present invention;

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FIGURE 2, an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal cross-sectional view of one end of the game of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURES 3, 4 and 5 are side elevational views of the game of FIGURE 1 illustrating three different visual patterns which may be formed therewith.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, it should be understood that various changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the claims attached hereto without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring to the drawing in detail, it will be seen that the manipulating game of the present invention consists basically of an elongated cylindrical tube 11 of transparent material, a plurality of transverse partitions or bulkheads 12 fastened in axially spaced relation across the interior of the tube 11 so as to divide the tube into a series of compartments 13, the bulkheads between adjacent compartments being formed with aligned openings 14, and a plurality of objects 16 contained within the tube 11 and formed for passing through the openings 14 in one-at-a-time order.

Preferably and as here shown, the objects 16 comprise spherical balls which may be conveniently provided in the form of ordinary glass marbles. The balls 16 have a diameter somewhat smaller than the diameter of the openings 14 so that balls may pass easily therethrough.

The tube 11 and partitions 12 may be molded integrally or may be formed separately and fastened together with a suitable adhesive. In either case, the material chosen should be transparent for easy viewing of the balls 16 and should also be rather hard so the game will retain its shape and so that shaking and jostling of the tube will produce an'attractive rattling or clattering sound.

A suitable material for this purpose is acrylic plastic which is widely obtainable under the trade names Lucite and Plexiglas. Of course, other suitable materials possessing the desired characteristics could be used.

As an important feature of the present invention the balls 16 will pass individually through the openings 14 but will interfere with each other and jam when several balls attempt to pass through an opening simultaneously. This condition is illustrated in the topmost compartment of the game as viewed in FIGURE 1 wherein four balls are blocking each other off from the opening. When this occurs the tube must be shaken, rotated or otherwise manipulated to cause the balls to approach the opening in one-at-a-time order.

Advantage is taken of this characteristic in providing a novel racing-type game which may be played with the device of the present invention. This game consists of positioning all of the balls in one of the end compartments and then holding the tube upright with the balls at the upper end and shaking or otherwise manipulating the tube in such manner as to cause all of the balls to pass downwardly therethrough andinto the bottom compartment.

Two or more persons, each having one of the games of the present invention, can have a contest to see which person can cause all of the balls to reach the bottom compartment in the shortest length of time. A single one of the games may be used in this manner by racing against time.

The positioning of the opening 14 is important to the proper functioning of the present invention while racing the balls from one end to the other. As may be seen from the drawings, the openings 14 are aligned with each other so that a single ball could drop through more than one compartment without striking the partitions. Indeed, the ball could fall the entire length of the tube. However, it is quite difiicult to align the openings 14 exactly 3 with the path of travel of the ball and usually the ball will drop one, two or three compartments and then strike a partition and rebound into a compartment.

The game must then be shaken or otherwise manipulated to cause the ball to again drop through the opening 14 into the lower compartments. In this connection it should be noted that the opposite faces 17 and 18 of the partitions 12 are fiat and are perpendicular to the axis of the tube. This creates a tendency for the balls to roll around on the partition before falling through the opening. This, of course, increases the fascination of the game since a shake which may tend to release a jam may also cause delay in the downward progress of other of the balls.

As shown in the drawings, we prefer to form eight compartments 13 along the length of the tube 11 and provide eight marbles 16 therein. Preferably these marbles are provided in two or more different colors so as to permit manipulation of the marbles into appropriate compartments to define over-all visual patterns of the character illustrated in FIGURES 3 through of the drawings. Some of these patterns are easy and some are very difficult to form; all can be and have been done. There are, of course, many more patterns possible, and players can increase their interest in the game by evolving their own patterns.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a novel tubular game which provides fun, excitement, challenge and both visual and audible interest, the device incorporating features permitting a variety of methods of play, making it popular with persons of all ages.

I claim:

A manipulative game, comprising an elongated cylindrical tube of transparent shock-resistant plastic material closed at both ends, a plurality of transverse partitions in axially spaced relation across the interior of and in contact with the walls of said tube over the entire perimeter of the partitions so as to divide the tube into a series of compartments, partitions between adjacent compartments each being formed with a single opening near the center thereof such that each compartment except the end ones has two openings therein, said openings being aligned, and a number of objects contained within said tube and being of a size surficient to pass through said openings in one at a time order.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 993,456 5/11 Naylor 2731 15 2,467,781 4/49 Ribbe 22 2,961,796 11/60 Davis 273l09 FOREIGN PATENTS 13,822 A.D./93 Great Britain.

OTHER REFERENCES Playthings, New York, McCready Publishing Co., March, 1954, p. 682.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

LEONARD W. VARNER, JR., EVON C. BLUNK,

Examiners. 

